Can Usain Bolt Create an Olympic-Sized Brand?

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt was the breakout star of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, captivating track fans and casual observers alike with his incredible speed, brash style and charismatic personality. Bolt still holds world records for the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints, and this summer in London he'll look to fend off a field of challengers, including countryman Yohan Blake.

But, like more mortal beings, Bolt is also an avid tech consumer. He owns three different smartphones — a BlackBerry, Samsung S3 and iPhone — and is active on Facebook (where he has nearly 7 million "Likes"), Twitter (where he has more than 500,000 followers), WhoSay and Instagram. He's a video game junkie who sometimes brings a system on trips, and has a DJ station hookup to his MacBook at home in Jamaica.

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Last week, Bolt took a deeper jump into the tech world with the launch of his own mobile game Bolt! [App Store link], in which players try to outrun a band of Caribbean pirates. (He follows Mike Tyson, Chad Johnson and Cristiano Ronaldo, big name athletes branding their own games with the company RockLive.) Early returns are positive, with the game performing well in the App Store, proving sticky with users and even getting a shoutout on Australian radio from none other than Justin Bieber.

Bolt took some time out of his Olympic training schedule to trade emails with Mashable this Tuesday. Read on to learn how mobile games can help athletes brand themselves, Bolt's must-have tech accessories and his DJing favorites.

Q&A With Usain Bolt

What gadgets and technology do you keep by your side on a daily basis and are you making absolutely sure to bring to London?

I have a lot of technology. I try to carry my laptop, iPad and a camera everywhere I go. When I am abroad for a longer time, I have my Playstation — at the moment COD is the game of choice. I recently introduced a new line of headphones, SOUL by Usain Bolt, and I must say they look and sound good.

Some people are skeptical that an international athlete of your stature handles Twitter alone, so is it all you, or do you have help? How long did it take you to get into Twitter, and what do you try to use it for most?

I am very involved but also have some people help me. I read everything but don't always get the time to reply to everyone. When I first started using Twitter, I didn't want a lot of people to follow me and tweet me; I just wanted to use it with my friends. But then I realized how powerful a communication tool it is, and I started to like engaging with my fans this way. You can tell when I'm communicating with friends versus fans because I use a lot of Patois when talking to my friends. Most people can't understand what we're saying to one another. With my fans, I just like to share what I'm up to, what I'm doing. If I can add a photo, that's even better. And I like when people tweet at me.

You just launched your own iPhone game, Bolt! How did that idea come about, what kind of role did you play in developing it?

About a year ago, my friend Matt Taylor flew down to Kingston and came over to the house. We were eating lunch and he said, "Let's do a video game." And I was like, "Yeah, let's do it." Matt left Kingston and went to work. Eventually we found John and Sam at RockLive, and the rest is history. 
 
I stayed involved during the whole process and was beta testing the game for a few months before it launched. I was really excited to finally launch the game this week, and am proud of the product we all worked so hard to create. And of course, the response has been incredible. It was the number-one app in Jamaica and number-five in the UK after the the first day or two, and we've got a five-star rating in the App Store in the U.S. Hard to ask for more than that. 

Why do it? Do you see athlete-themed and branded mobile games becoming more of a trend?

I view the game as an extension of my personal brand — just like my website and social media channels — so to me, it made sense. I can definitely see more athletes going in this direction because it provides a new way to engage fans and create additional value for your brand. 

You're a gamer yourself and into DJing, as well. How did you get into those things growing up, and what kind of music do you play to get people going?

I've always been into video games, for as long as I remember. I don't even remember the first games I played. I think nowadays everyone in Jamaica is playing video games. In terms of music, it's always been a part of my life. Jamaica is all about music and dancing. It's just part of the culture. I didn't get my DJ equipment until a few years ago, but I've always been into music, going to the clubs and dancing. I listen mostly to dancehall and hip hop, so that's what I like to play when I'm DJing. Sometimes I'll throw in some classic reggae because people recognize it and it always seems to make them smile. 

Image courtesy UsainBolt.com